Eastern Allies successful in first outing

The Eastern Allies opened their Gold Coast campaign with a bang today, defeating the Central Allies by 28 points at Metricon Stadium.

It was clear from the outset that Easts were going to push Central, applying the pressure with early aggression.

Albury’s Brea Quinlivan snuck in the opener from the goal square as Easts made one of many surges forward for the quarter. Soon after, Grafton’s Lillian Doyle had the Eastern Allies’ second and by quarter-time, they were ahead by 11 points.

Easts remained a dominant force in the second-quarter continuing their attacking trend. Brianna McFarlane added another goal on the board with a top-notch second-quarter performance to go with it.

At half-time, the Eastern Allies were winning clearances, but despite the lead, were down on the contested possession count.

In the second-half, the game evened-out with the Central Allies clearly heeding their coach’s half-time advice. The Central Allies scored the only goal for the quarter – on the siren – keeping Easts nervous heading into the final term.

In the last quarter, the Eastern Allies put their foot down.

Doyle topped-off a smart game with two-goals for the quarter, making it three goals for the game.

Thurgoona’s Alyce Parker was solid in the middle, producing 24 disposals and directing the team in her role as Co-Captain with Tasmania’s Lauren Stevenson. Parker also managed ten clearances as the Eastern Allies wracked up 29 inside-50s to 19.

Sydney’s Zoe Hurrell starred in the final term, with her ground work and strong hands turning into Eastern Allies goals. Hurrell was even able to make a snap on goal that would result in six-points.

Eastern Allies Head Coach, Alicia Eva said she was very happy with her side.

“They started really well,” said Eva.

“Upon reflection, we probably could have ended up with a few more goals.

“I don’t think there’s a heap of areas that we were terrible at, there are certainly areas that we need to improve in, but across the four quarters, we’re pretty pleased as a coaching group.”